Abitudini e spinte gentili. Dalla natura ambientale dell’abitudine all’ecologia letteraria

This paper explores how literature can influence social and environmental habits in response to the current socio-ecological crisis. Drawing from John Dewey’s theory of habits – particularly his idea of habits as inherently ‘ecological’, relational, and environmental – and comparing it with Thaler’s and Sunstein’s nudge theory, it examines the potential of literature to gradually transform human habitual experience. By engaging with the interdisciplinary research field of the Environmental Humanities, it highlights literature’s capacity to foster critical reflection and inspire sustainable practices. Literature can serve as a catalyst for new shared habits of thought and action, offering narratives that challenge sedimented norms and helping cultivate new approaches and attitudes towards the natural human/nonhuman world.